10 Highest-Paying Companies For Millennials

For the most part, members of Gen Y, born between 1982 and 1993, have not lucked out in this economy. Many of them spent a fortune on college degrees that they’re barely using: They’re either fighting to land their first job or are stuck in low-paying jobs such as in retail, where a degree may not even be required. Though the national unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in July, 13.5 percent of people between the ages of 20 and 24 are currently out of work, while 9.3 percent of those 25 to 29 are unemployed. Not to mention the countless number who are underemployed.

Once they do find a job, many Gen Yers look for employment in companies that allow for flexible schedules and embrace their entrepreneurial spirit, but the average salaries for this age group are low. In 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly earnings for those 20-24 was $457 (or $23,764 annually) and $649 ($33,748 annually) for those 25-29.

Yet at a handful of companies, Gen Y employees are raking it in. According to a new report by research firm Millennial Branding and from PayScale, Inc., which provides compensation data and software – the companies offering the best salaries to Gen Y employees are in technology. The research included information on millennials working at Fortune 500 companies, and in addition to median pay, it looked at the percentage of Gen Yers among employees, job satisfaction, job stress, meaningfulness of job, schedule flexibility and green score (the company’s environmental footprint as well as its management policies, programs and initiatives, and reporting practices connected to eco issues).

Here's a look at the 10 top-paying companies for millennials, according to the survey.

10 Highest-Paying Companies for Millennials

10 Highest-Paying Companies for Millennials

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10. Google, Inc. Median Pay $80,900

Though Google comes in at number 10 out of 100 companies for median pay, it ranked second overall for Gen Y workers, with an overall score of 11.37. Forty-one percent of employees are Gen Y, 15 percent say their stress is low, and 82 percent say they are highly satisfied. What's not to like? "Googlers," as they're called, have on-site doctors and nurses, medical services, free legal advice, reimbursement for classes or degree programs related to their job, video games, pool tables, pianos, cafes, and green-friendly features such as biodiesel commuter shuttles and an electric car sharing program.